Clean Water Network
May 2000 Status Report
In This Issue:
1.) BEACH Bill Vote Expected in Senate
2.) May Is Wetlands Month
3.) Help Strengthen CZMA
4.) Update on Definition of Fill
5.) TMDLs and Nonpoint Source Case
6.) Clean Water Activists Come to Town
7.) TMDL Bills Update
8.) America’s Most Endangered Rivers Announced
9.) Fishable Waters Bill Introduced
10.) EPA Revises Approval Process for WQS
11.) Farm Bureau Attacked on TV, in Press
12.) EPA’s Water Quality Standards Academy
13.) Poll Shows Support for Environmental Groups
14.) USGS Book on Sediments and Pesticides
1.) BEACH Bill Passes Senate Committee — Vote on Senate Floor
Anticipated
Good news from the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee! On
April13, both Senator Lautenberg’s and Representative Bilbray’s BEACH
bills (S. 522 and H.R. 999, respectively) passed on a vote of 17-1, with
Senator Voinovich (R-OH) voting no by proxy to both. The bills will be
brought to the Senate floor following a committee report. A vote on the
Senate floor is anticipated in early June.
Please help pass the BEACH Bill! As we hope to have a vote in
the near
future, please contact your elected officials and encourage their
support of the BEACH bills. Also, please take a moment to thank the
members of the EPW Committee [listed at right] in recognizing the
importance of this Bill for ensuring healthy beaches for our communities
and future generations. Call your Senator via the Capitol Switchboard at
202-224-3121. If you would like more information on the BEACH Bills,
please contact Suzanne Giles with American Oceans Campaign at
202-544-3526.
Senate EPW Committee Staff:
Baucus (D-MT)
Smith (R-NH)
Boxer (D-CA)
Lieberman (D-CT)
Graham (D-FL)
Lautenberg (D-NJ)
Moynihan (D-NY)
Reid (D-NV)
Wyden (D-OR)
Warner (R-VA)
Inhofe (R-OK)
Thomas (R-WY)
Bond (R-MO)
Voinovich (R-OH)
Crapo (R-ID)
Bennett (R-UT)
Hutchison (R-TX)
Chafee (R-RI)
2.) May is Wetlands Month: What Have You Done for Your Wetland Lately?
The dull days of winter are behind us and the sun has begun to shine on
another beautiful summer season. Why not visit your local wetland and
enjoy what the lush plant and animal life brought about by the spring
rains? This May marks the ninth annual celebration of wetlands month – a
perfect time to tell your state to protect its critical wetlands. CWN
members have been working for years on wetlands protection and the long
battle is almost over. On June 9th, Nationwide Permit 26 will be no
longer.
States have had 90 days to certify, deny, or place conditions on
the
proposed new and replacement permits to take the place of the
historically destructive NWP 26 since they came out on March 9th. States
are in the middle of public comment periods on their proposed plans on
how to treat these new permits and they need to hear from wetlands
experts like you! To learn more about the state certification process,
call Ami Grace at 202-289-2421 or visit our web site at www.cwn.org and
click on ‘wetlands.’ There you will find: your state agency contact for
state certification, a fact sheet on state certification, and
recommended regional conditions. We can also provide you with a list of
counties in your state declared flood disaster areas by FEMA over the
past 12 years and a list of state by state 401 Water Quality
Certification by Nationwide Permit Number
If you are working on state certification, please contact Ami so
we can
keep track of who’s working on it. She can also put you in touch with
others in your state.
After three years of extensive comment and involvement NWP 26
will be
gone soon – let’s work together to ensure the new permits are much more
wetlands friendly.
3.) Help Strengthen the Coastal Zone Management Act
In the last Status Report we reported that Rep. Saxton (R-NJ) removed
his version of CZMA because the House Resources committee had stripped
the bill of its critical non-point source funding language and had
inserted destructive takings language. Unfortunately, the leaders of
both the House Resource and the Transportation and Infrastructure
Committees have thus far opposed efforts to have nonpoint source
language taken up on any bill passing through either committee this
year. Sen. Snowe’s (R-ME) version of the Coastal Zone Management Act
reauthorization (S.1534) is still in play and needs to be strengthened.
S. 1534 reauthorizes the CZMA for five years, boosts funding for CZM
grants and state programs, and authorizes the coastal nonpoint program.
Unfortunately, it does not ensure that funds are available for the
coastal nonpoint program. Sen. Kerry (D-MA) has been working to insert
language which would designate funding for states to control runoff.
Contact your senator and state agency and ask them to oppose Snowe’s
bill without designated funding language. State agencies should be
particularly interested in this provision since the designation would
provide them with much needed coastal polluted runoff funds. To contact
your senator, call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121. For more
specific information about this bill, contact Catherine Hazlewood with
Coast Alliance at 202-546-9554 or Betsy McEvoy with Center for Marine
Conservation at 202-857-5556.
4.) Update on Mountaintop Mining and Proposed Changes to CWA Section 404
First of all, the Clean Water Network extends a huge thank you to all
Clean Water Network members and allies who contacted the White House and
Members of Congress on the mountaintop removal strip mining issue and
related changes to the Clean Water Act section 404 rules defining "fill"
material. Your calls and letters not only helped defeat the Byrd rider
in Congress last year, they greatly influenced the Administration’s
decision to limit valley fills by upholding the buffer zone rule in the
brief they filed April 17, 2000 with the Fourth Circuit in the appeal of
the mountaintop removal case. While Network members still have
significant concerns about the proposed Clean Water Act 404 rule change
filed at the same time as the brief, the Administration’s switch to the
plaintiff’s side on the buffer zone stream protections was a big step in
the right direction. The proposed rule was published in the Federal
Register on April 20, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 77)] [Proposed Rules]
Pages 21291-21300]. It is on the web at:
ess.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=2000_register&docid=00-9940-filed.
If you do not have web access, contact CWN at 202-289-2421 and we will
send it to you. Comments are due June 19, 2000. Stay tuned to email for
sample comments and more details about how you can weigh in during the
comment period.
In the legal brief filed on 4/17, the Clinton Administration
took the
right position on the buffer zone rule. This rule is a regulation issued
under the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). The rule
says that coal surface mining activities can not disturb within 100 feet
of an intermittent or perennial stream.
In the case before the district court, the Administration took
the
position that mining companies need not stay out of the buffer zone area
if the companies had fill permits from the Army Corps. Judge Haden
rejected this argument on a number of grounds, including that a 404
permit was less protective of the stream than the buffer zone, and the
Corps simply lacked the authority to permit valley fills in streams
under 404 because it is a waste disposal activity.
In its brief, the Administration agreed with Judge Haden that
the
buffer zone rule should be upheld to protect larger streams from mining
operations. The Adminstration’s argument in favor of upholding Judge
Haden on the buffer zone is an important step in the work to limit the
extreme environmental destruction caused by mountaintop removal strip
mining.
However, the Administration argued that Judge Haden was wrong on
the
404 issue, and is still maintaining that the Corps has the authority
under the Clean Water Act and its own rules to issue 404 permits for
valley fills in streams. In addition to taking this position in the
brief, the EPA and Corps filed a rule change to alter both EPA’s and the
Corps’ definitions of "fill" material to explicitly allow coal mining
waste (and other wastes) to bury waters of the United States. The
practical effect of these two positions taken together for mountaintop
removal is that coal companies could get 404 permits (including general
permits) to bury smaller, ephemeral streams down the valley until they
hit the intermittent streams, which would be protected by the buffer
zone rule.
The issue of which definition of fill the Corps and EPA use is
complicated. It impacts all wetlands fill issues, including filling
streams with waste from mountaintop mining. The CWN has set up an email
listserver to facilitate internal discussions on the definition of fill.
Contact Ami Grace at [log in to unmask] for more information.
Thanks to Joan Mulhern of Earthjustice Legal Defense Fund for a
summary
of the Administration’s legal brief.
5.) Court Upholds Importance of Nonpoint Sources in TMDL Program
In April 2000, a federal judge ruled that the Clean Water Act’s Total
Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program does in fact require the Environmental
Protection Agency and the states to identify waters impaired in part or
wholly by nonpoint source pollution and to develop TMDLs or cleanup
plans for those waters. This decision supports EPA’s longstanding
interpretation and practice in the TMDL program.
In Pronsolino vs. Marcus, U.S. District Judge William Alsup
affirmed
the scope of the Act’s TMDL program by finding that Congress intended to
include nonpoint source pollution in the Act’s water quality standards
program and so intended TMDLs to address attainment of water quality
standards in cases where attainment is not achieved due to point
sources, nonpoint sources, or any combination of sources. For more
information on Pronsolino vs. Marcus, contact Alan Levine of the Coast
Action Group at 707-882-2484. For text of the decision go to:
www.epa.gov/owow/tmdl/lawsuit.html. For a fact sheet go to www.cwn.org,
click on the TMDL button.
6.) Clean Water Activists Take on Washington, DC
The Clean Water Network’s TMDL Development and Implementation
Conference took place in Washington, DC, April 30-May 2. Sixty-eight
activists from 29 states spent two full days sharing information and
strategies on how to clean up their polluted rivers, lakes and coastal
waters using the Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) provisions of the Clean
Water Act. They shared TMDL stories, and discussed how to get a clean up
plans developed and implemented locally, and how to protect the TMDL
program from attacks in Congress. Most participants also used their time
in D.C. to visit with their elected officials to tell their stories
about polluted waters back home. Many thanks to the numerous presenters
and TMDL workgroup members who helped CWN develop the right conference
for our members.
We hope this conference will educate members of Congress on
polluted
waterbodies and spur clean water advocates to speak up in the media and
across the state about the importance of the TMDL provisions of the
Clean Water Act.
7.) TMDL-Related Bill Update
In the last Status Report we announced four bad TMDL bills focused on
CWA exemptions for point sources of pollution from silviculture and
agriculture. Since then, Senators Crapo (R-ID) and Smith (R-NH) have
introduced their own bill to further delay the TMDL program. Below
you’ll find updates on the Smith/Crapo TMDL bill (S. 2417) and the four
bad forestry bills. Please note that H.R. 3625 now has 85 co-sponsors,
including 12 Democrats. Suggested action items on S. 2417 and H.R. 3625
are critically important at the moment.
These bills would undermine the current TMDL program and weaken
the
Clean Water Act! The Crapo bill would also delay the proposed
regulations, but more importantly it would make it much more difficult
to implement the TMDL program regardless of whether the proposed
regulations get implemented or not. See previous CWN alerts on these
bills or go to our web page for fact sheets on them at www.cwn.org and
click on TMDLs.
Thanks to everyone who came to town and lobbied in May! Rumors
that S.
2417 and/or the forestry bills could move as riders are still flying
around. Appropriations will heat up over the next week or so and time is
of the essence. Clearly, we have our work cut out for us. Questions?
Contact Merritt at [log in to unmask] or 202-289-2392.
S. 2417 -- Water Pollution
Enhancements Act of 2000
Sponsor: Sen. Crapo, Michael D. (introduced 4/13/2000)
Latest Major Action: 4/13/2000 Referred to Senate committee.
Co-sponsors: 17
Bond, Christopher S. (R-MO)
Bunning, Jim (R-KY)
Collins, Susan M. (R-ME)
Craig, Larry E. (R-ID)
Gorton, Slade (R-WA)
Gramm, Phil (R-TX)
Grams, Rod (R-MN)
Hagel, Chuck (R-NE)
Hatch, Orrin G. (R-UT)
Hutchinson, Y. Tim (R-AR)
McConnell, Mitch (R-KY)
Murkowski, Frank H. (R-AK)
Roberts, Pat (R-KS)
Sessions, Jeff (R-AL)
Smith, Bob (R-NH)
Smith, Gordon (R-OR)
Thomas, Craig (R-WY)
Action items:
1) Call or write your Senator opposing S. 2417. Capitol
switchboard:
202-224-3121. CWN circulated a sign-on letter opposing this bill. If you
would like to see the letter or use the text of our letter to send your
own letter to your senator, please go to our web site at www.cwn.org and
click on TMDLs. There you will see a number of urgent action TMDL
materials including this letter. Address letters to: The Honorable
(full name), United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510. If your
Senator is already a co-sponsor…tell them you are strongly opposed to
the bill and send them our fact sheet (on the web at www.cwn.org and
then click on TMDLs)!
2) Localize the Network’s sample op-ed on the need for the TMDL
program. Submit it to your local papers. If your Senator is already a
bill co-sponsor, use the op-ed to criticize their position.
CWN support materials available:
1) Sign on letter opposing bill (delivered to all senators on
May 9)
and available on www.cwn.org.
2) Fact sheet analyzing the problems with the bill. (on the web
at
www.cwn.org and then click on TMDLs).
3) Sample op-ed for your localization which supports the TMDL
program
and cleaning up our waters. Contact [log in to unmask] for a copy.
FORESTRY BILLS
H.R.3625 -- Timber and Agriculture Environmental Fairness Act
Sponsor: Rep. Dickey, Jay (introduced 2/10/2000) (R-4-AR)
Latest Major Action: 2/11/2000 Referred to House subcommittee
Title: To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to exempt
agricultural stormwater discharges and silviculture operations from
permits under the national pollutant discharge elimination system, and
for other purposes.
Co-sponsors: 85
H.R.3609
Sponsor: Rep. Sandlin, Max (introduced 2/9/2000) (D-1-TX)
Latest Major Action: 2/10/2000 Referred to House subcommittee
Title: To amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to exempt
certain silviculture activities from permits under the national
pollutant discharge elimination system.
Co-sponsors: 4
Berry, Marion (D-AR)
Paul, Ron (R-TX)
Shows, Ronnie (D-MS)
Turner, Jim (D-TX)
S. 2139 -- Timber and Agriculture Environmental Fairness Act
Sponsor: Sen. Hutchinson, Y. Tim (introduced 3/2/2000) (R-AR)
Latest Major Action: 3/2/2000 Referred to Senate committee
Title: A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to exempt
agricultural stormwater and silviculture operation discharges from the
requirement for a permit under the pollutant discharge elimination
system, and for other purposes.
Co-sponsors: 2
Cochran, Thas (R-MS)
Enzi, Michael (R-WY)
S.2041
Sponsor: Sen. Lincoln, Blanche (introduced 2/8/2000) (D-AR)
Latest Major Action: 2/8/2000 Referred to Senate committee
Title: A bill to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to exempt
discharges from certain silvicultural activities from permit
requirements of the national pollutant discharge elimination system.
Co-sponsor: 1
Landrieu, Mary (D-LA)
Action items for all four forestry bills:
1) Call or write your Representative(s) opposing H.R. 3624.
Capitol
switchboard: 202-224-3121 or address letters to: The Honorable (full
name), United States House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515. If
your Representative is already a co-sponsor…tell them you are strongly
opposed to the bill and send them our 200+ organizational letter
opposing the bill (on the web at www.cwn.org and then click on TMDLs)!
2) Localize the Network’s sample op-ed on this bill. Submit it
to your
local papers. If your Representative is already a bill co-sponsor, use
the op-ed to chastise them.
CWN support materials available:
1) Sign on letter opposing bill – over 200 organizations signed
on.
2) Sample op-ed for your localization which opposes the bill.
You
could also steal from this op-ed and use it as a letter to the editor.
3) A sample letter to your representative opposing the bill.
You can get copies of all of these bills and lists of
co-sponsors from
the web. Go to : http://thomas.loc.gov. Type in the bill number and you
can find the text of the bill and the list of co-sponsors.
8.) Is Your River One of America’s Most Endangered Rivers?
On April 12th, American Rivers released its 15th annual Most Endangered
Rivers Report, highlighting the rivers that are most desperately in need
of protection and restoration. The rivers included in the report are
listed below.
Thanks to CWN members who helped nominate their rivers. To
access a
complete version of the Most Endangered Rivers Report of 2000, as well
as additional information and contacts for each river, visit
www.americanrivers.org.
Clark Fort (MT)
Clear Creek (TX)
Coal River (WV)
Copper River (AK)
Green River (CO, UT)
Lower Snake River (WA)
Mississippi and White Rivers (MN, WI, IL, IA, MO, KY, TN, AR, MS, LA)
Missouri River (MT, ND, SD, NE, IA, KS, MO)
North Fork Feather River (CA)
Presumpscot River (ME)
Rio Grande (CO, NM, TX, and Chihuahua and Coahuila, Mexico)
Tri-State River Basins (GA, AL, FL)
Ventura River (CA)
9.) New Bill to Modify Clean Water Act to Address Fish Habitat
Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) and Rep. John Tanner (D-TN) recently introduced the
Fishable Waters Act of 2000. The bill was developed by the Fishable
Waters Coalition, an alliance of farmers, anglers, state resource
agencies and conservation groups, out of a common concern that the Clean
Water Act must be enhanced to solve America’s fisheries needs.
Currently, 38% of the nation’s freshwater ecosystems are not fishable or
swimmable, and less than 2 percent of the 3.6 million stream miles are
healthy enough to be considered high quality.
The Fishable Waters Act emphasizes a "bottom-up approach" to
allocating
financial and technical resources to manage watersheds at a local level.
Rather than increasing regulations, the bill would establish a new
program within the Clean Water Act that would allow states to use funds
in their Fisheries Habitat Account to finance approved conservation
projects, thereby expanding the spending authority of states and
allowing them to provide support directly to landowners and watershed
councils. The bill has not yet been endorsed by the Clean Water Network.
We are waiting for our members to weigh in on the bill prior to
endorsement. To find out more about the Fishable Waters Act contact
Steve Moyer, Trout Unlimited at 703-522-0200 or [log in to unmask]
10.) EPA Revises Approval Rules for Water Quality Standards
As we reported in the April Status Report, EPA revised its regulation
that specifies when new and revised State and Tribal water quality
standards become effective for Clean Water Act purposes. Under EPA’s
regulation, such new and revised standards, if submitted to EPA after
the effective date of the final rule, will not be used for Clean Water
Act purposes until approved by EPA. The final rule also provides that
standards already in effect and submitted to EPA by the effective date
of the new rule may be used for Clean Water Act purposes, whether or not
approved by EPA. The regulation becomes effective May 30, 2000. For more
information, visit www.epa.gov/ost/standards/alaska/ on the Internet.
11.) New TV Program and Reports Document Attacks on Family Farming
Reports Reveal Farm Bureau Agenda
On April 9, the CBS show "60 Minutes" revealed how the Farm Bureau has
abandoned the interests of small farmers for big business. While many
small farmers have been drowning in debt, the Farm Bureau has been
sinking investments into the very agribusiness corporations that
undermine family farms.
In a white paper that was released during the same week that the
"60
Minutes" show aired, Defenders of Wildlife stated that the Farm Bureau’s
agenda is detrimental to the family farmer and to the environment. The
report, entitled Amber Waves of Gain, reveals that the Farm Bureau has
opposed the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air
Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, wetlands laws, pesticide regulations
and efforts to curb global warming. While one measure of the Farm
Bureau’s size is the $200 million or more that it accumulates from
yearly membership dues, the report states that the national, state and
county farm bureaus also control insurance companies producing annual
revenue of some $6.5 billion and cooperatives producing revenue of some
$12 billion. Copies of the white paper, Amber Waves of Gain, are
available by calling Ken Goldman at 202-682-9400, ext. 237. PDF
downloadable versions of the report are available online at
www.defenders.org.
Agribusiness Wins Big with Subsidies
Large corporate agricultural operations are beating out the family
farmer on the subsidy front as well. The Environmental Working Group, a
non-profit environmental organization based in Washington, DC, did a
study on 30 million payment records for the years 1996 through 1998.
They found that nationally, 61% of the $22.9 billion paid out in
subsidies during the period went to 10% of the recipients. In
Mississippi, the state where the subsidy inequities were greatest, 10%
of the participants took in 83% of all payments to the state with an
average of $217,000 per recipient over three years. Payments were also
highly concentrated in Alabama, Tennessee, and South Carolina. "Freedom
to Farm" policies introduced in 1996 are responsible for the subsidies.
12.) Go Back to School for a Week — Attend EPA’s Water Quality Standards
Academy
EPA will be holding its annual Water Quality Standards Academy this year
in Arlington, Virginia on July 10-14 and August 7-11, 2000. This
week-long course is designed for state agency water quality managers but
is also a valuable education for clean water groups. The course is
divided into 23 modules which include topics such as: the three basic
components of WQS, how criteria are developed, exceptions to WQS such as
variances and mixing zones, and how WQS are approved and implemented.
Five Clean Water Network members attended the academy last year. All of
us found the academy a great way to learn about the WQS provisions of
the Clean Water Act with those people who make these critical decisions.
In addition to the informative lectures, small group sessions put
environmental groups together with state agencies and industry to work
on hypothetical WQS problems. Numerous EPA documents were also handed
out and made available to participants.
If you would like to know more about what to expect from the
academy,
call Ami at CWN at 202-289-2421. You must pre-register by May 30 for the
July course and June 30 for the August course! For registration
materials, contact Ami. CWN may be able to offer some financial
assistance to those attendees who need it. Please contact us.
13.) Poll Indicates Americans Support Environmental Movements
A recent Gallup poll found that 83% of Americans continue to support the
goals of the environmental movement that began thirty years ago with the
first Earth Day. Sixteen percent of those polled consider themselves
active in the environmental movement, while 55% say they are
"sympathetic but not active." In addition, more than three-quarters
stated that among institutions, they place the most trust in national
and local environmental groups to protect the environment.
14.) New Book Links Effects of Pesticides on Sediment and Aquatic Biota
The USGS recently published the final volume in the four-part series,
Pesticides in the Hydrologic System. The new release, Pesticides in
Stream Sediment and Aquatic Biota – Distribution, Trends, and Governing
Factors, documents the long-term significance of DDT and other
pesticides to aquatic ecosystems and to human health. The book is
designed as a technical resource for scientists, engineers, managers and
policy makers, but may also be useful to those who are interested in
data from a particular region of the US. All four volumes in this
series are available from CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida at
1-800-272-7737.
Contact CWN Staff
Please use the information below for contacting CWN staff. Note that the
[log in to unmask] email address can also be used to contact CWN with
general clean water concerns.
Kathy Nemsick, National Coordinator
[log in to unmask], 202-289-2395
Ami Grace, Grassroots Advocacy Coordinator
[log in to unmask], 202-289-2421
Linda Young, Southeast Field Coordinator
[log in to unmask], 850-222-9188
Merritt Frey, Feedlots Campaign Coordinator
[log in to unmask], 202-289-2393
Carol James, Program Assistant/Webmaster
[log in to unmask], 202-289-2390
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